


Under Cover

by GuitarAngel



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-01-06 07:26:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12206595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuitarAngel/pseuds/GuitarAngel
Summary: Charlie grew up in a family of cops apart from her mother who had been a lawyer. She knew how dangerous the job was and she prayed every day that her father would come home safe. When he suddenly disappears she joins the academy and becomes one of the rookies of the police department, being trained by the one and only Harry Styles who happened to be the same rookie that her father had trained in just four years prior to his disappearance. Together they risk their lives on the job while secretly trying to piece together the events leading up to her father's disappearance.





	1. First Rookie Mistake

“Alright, Rookies. Today is the official first day that you are officers of the Fifteenth Division. Your training officer pairings are as follows…”

I listened to the captain go through his list of pair ups, glancing around as I wondered who my training officer would be.

“Gray.” he called, catching my attention as I turned back to him.

“Yes, Sir?” I asked.

“You’ll be with Officer Ackles.” he said.

I smiled as I looked over at the man who I had always considered family. He had worked closely with my father before he disappeared and had always been there for me and supported me in my decision to become an officer like my father.

“Dismissed.” Captain said.

I stood up with my fellow Rookies and walked over to Jensen, fighting back a smile.

“So, Jens- I mean Officer Ackles… What are we doing first?” I asked him.

“Well, first off you can grab your gear then meet me out at the car. After that we get some coffee.” he said.

I playfully rolled my eyes. That man and his damn coffee. I did as I was told, passing my friends Luke and Dylan on the way who went to the academy with me.

“Good luck, losers.” I grinned.

“Oh fuck off. Just because you got to be with someone you like doesn’t mean shit.” Dylan huffed.

I laughed and shrugged then found Jensen’s car, loading up my things before we took off into the city. As promised we stopped for coffee then I drove us around, making small stops here and there as we responded to a few calls over the radio. It wasn’t until we were parked for a few minutes that I noticed something suspicious going down between two men on a street that was known for illegal drug selling.

“Jensen, look over there. Isn’t that Marty Wilder? He’s a known drug dealer right? Look! They’re exchanging.” I said.

Jensen looked over at the two I was talking about, raising a brow when he heard what I was talking about.

“Alright. Let’s go check it out.” he said as he set his coffee down.

We stepped out of the car and I followed him over to the two men, putting my hand on my gun just in case I would need to use it.

“Excuse me. Police.” I said, identifying myself like I was trained to do but of course when they saw cops they both took off.

“Hey! Stop!” I yelled as I ran after them.

“Charlie, wait!” Jensen called after me, but I was already in pursuit.

I chased them down a fenced alley and while one of them got away I managed to tackle the man who had originally handed over what I assumed was a envelope full of money for whatever drug the other man was selling.

“Ow! What the fuck?!” The man groaned as I shoved him onto his stomach to handcuff him.

“Shut up.” I huffed, a bit out of breath from running after him.

“Look, lady, you have the wrong idea. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” he said.

“Yeah? What was in the envelope, huh? This one right here that your friend conveniently dropped.” I said as I reached over to open it, finding some cash just like I expected. “Would you look at that. Were you going to buy drugs with this?”

“No. Just listen to me-”

“Save it for someone who cares.” I cut him off and pulled him to my feet.

He let out an annoyed huff as I led him back to the squad car, putting him into the back as I grinned at Jensen. He gave me an odd look in return but didn’t say anything as we drove back to the station. Of course I was completely buzzed that I was able to catch my first criminal on my first day.

“Go ahead and book him.” Jensen said.

I happily led the man inside, getting a few odd looks from people in the building. Just as I was about to take him into lock up one of the lead detectives stopped me.

“Officer Gray?” he asked.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Care to explain why you have Officer Styles in handcuffs?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but was too shocked to speak. Officer Styles?

“Hey, Jimmy.” The man who I had handcuffed said to him.

“How are you doing, Harry? Rough day?” Detective Mahoney chuckled. “Gray, uncuff him.” He ordered.

I could feel my cheeks heat up as I uncuffed the man before me, completely embarrassed that I had arrested an undercover cop.

“Thanks for that. No, really. You just single handedly ruined my relationship with one of my undercover ops. Now I can’t go back in there without blowing my cover.” He snapped at me before storming off.

I bit my lip and looked over at Jensen who just chuckled and shook his head.

“You knew, didn’t you. Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked him.

“You had to learn on your own. Congratulations for making your first rookie mistake. Next time listen to me. Now come on. We have some more work to do.” he said as he started to leave.

I sighed deeply and reluctantly followed, not wanting to come back at all because I knew that once the other rookies found out about this they would tease me for days.

Fuck my life.


	2. In the Line of Fire

As expected the moment I returned from a day out on the job my friends began to tease me about my “big arrest” on the first day.

“Oh yeah? What did you do today?” I asked Dylan.

“I found a missing kid who got lost and got him back to his mom.” he grinned.

“Fuck you guys.” I huffed, only making them laugh

“Come on. Let’s go over to Rocco’s for a drink.” Luke said. “You look like you could use one.”

“I’ll meet you there.” I told them.

After taking a little extra time to change out of my uniform I headed over to the bar a few blocks down from the station, seeing my friends sitting at a table together. However, as I was about to go over another officer caught my eye. Now that I had a proper look at him I couldn’t help but feel like there was something familiar about him, but I didn’t know what. I took a deep breath then walked over to him.

“What do you want?” he asked grumpily.

“I um… I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I jumped the gun and got too excited to get my first arrest so I wasn’t thinking clearly. It won’t happen again.” I said.

He looked at me for a moment then nodded.

“It’s fine… Rookie mistake. It happened to the best of us.” he said, making me feel a little relieved. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t, Sir.” I promised, letting him go back to his drink while I walked over to my friends.

Harry’s POV

I looked over at the girl who arrested me earlier. I had been so pissed off about it, but when I remembered who she was that anger seemed to disappear. Her father had been a mentor to me when I was a rookie and I saw a lot of him in her. I remembered meeting her once at a police event, but she was younger then. I had just started the job and she was fresh out of highschool and ready to go into the academy.

“So that’s Tom’s girl?” I asked Jensen who sat next to me a few minutes ago.

“Yeah. She’s quite the little spitfire that one.” he chuckled.

“Yeah, she is. And thank you by the way for letting her arrest me.” I said as I turned to look at the older man.

“What? I couldn’t just flat out say that you were a cop. It would have completely blown your cover. At least now you can salvage the relationship with your informant.” he said.

As much as I hated to admit it I knew he was right. I let out a small sigh then finished the rest of my drink.

“See you tomorrow, Jensen.” I said as I left the bar, deciding to call it a night and go home.

I swung by the cemetery on the way home, letting out a soft sigh when I stopped at my mentor’s grave. There was never a body to bury, but they decided to put a marker there anyway since everyone assumed he was dead. The Irish mob he was infiltrating had a history of disposing of bodies with no trace so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did the same to Tom.

“I promise I’ll protect her, Sir.”

~The Next Day~

Charlie’s POV

I walked into the locker room, getting my expected dose of teasing from my fellow rookies. I ignored them of course and went to the conference room in order to get my assignment for the day. My luck seemed to get even worse when I discovered that I would be with Harry instead of Jensen now that he was off the streets. I mentally groaned at the thought of dealing with the guy I mistakenly arrested for the rest of the year until I was promoted to officer. After we were dismissed I made my way over to Harry with my gear.

“I hope the whole tackling an undercover officer isn’t going to be a normal thing with you.” Harry teased.

“No. I learned my lesson.” I said, pouting slightly as he teased me.

“Come on, Rookie. We have work to do.” Harry said as he started walking.

I followed him, deciding to stay quiet even though it was seriously bothering me how familiar he was. I knew I had seen him before so it was driving me nuts not knowing. It wasn’t until we had issued a few parking tickets and responded to ridiculous calls from people wanting us to settle stupid arguments over whose dog pooped in whose yard that I finally asked him.

“I know this is going to sound really weird but have we met before yesterday? You look so familiar and it’s been bothering me all day.” I said to him.

“I’m a little disappointed that you don’t remember me… Your dad was my training officer. He trained me right out of the academy and I was there for one of his holiday parties shortly after you graduated high school.” he said to me, causing the memories to come flooding back.

*Flashback*

“Dad, do I have to come down?” I pouted as I sat on my bed while he stood in the doorway.

“Yes. Come on. Jensen is here and some of the new rookies.” he said.

I sighed deeply and just nodded, following him downstairs after I finished getting ready. The yard and downstairs were full of cops that I had known since I was little, but there were a few who looked not much older than me. Before I could slip off to hang around Jensen my dad dragged me over to the newcomers to introduce me.

“Rooks, this is my daughter, Charlie.” My father introduced.

“Ah so this is Charlie. Jack talks about you quite a bit. Mostly about how much he hates your boyfriend.” One said with a chuckle.

I raised a brow at my dad who just shrugged and pretended that he was needed elsewhere. 

“Of course he runs.” I mumbled. “So which one of you unlucky guys got stuck with him?” I asked them.

“That would be me. Though he’s not as bad as you make him out to be.”

I looked over at the guy with bright green eyes and my first thought was how attractive he was. He was only six years older so I could date him…

“You must not know him very well then. He’ll get worse. Trust me.” I said.

“I suppose I’ll have to come to you for some advice then.” The man smirked and a dimple popped out on his cheek.

“You just might.” I smiled.

*End Flashback*

“I remember that. You were flirting hard core that night.” I teased as I looked at him.

“I wouldn’t say hard core flirting. Just a little friendly conversation.” he said, though the smile on his face told me he knew I was right.

“Oh whatever.” I laughed, shaking my head as I heard him chuckle beside me.

“Alright, maybe I was…. But I stopped because Jack told me he would shoot me if I tried anything with you.” he said.

“That sounds like him.” I laughed a bit, my smile fading at the thought of him.

I still couldn’t believe it had been nearly two years since he disappeared. His old office was now covered in case files and photos that had been taken during the months that it was investigated. There was something that everyone was missing and I had yet to figure out what it was.

“How is your mum doing?” Harry’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Good… She’s good.” I said simply, not wanting to explain that my mother didn’t even know who I was anymore. Or that I had to place her in a care facility because I couldn’t be around enough to take care of her when she went into her episodes. It was a decision that still weighed heavy on my heart.

I saw Harry look at me from the corner of my eye but thankfully he just let the subject go and continued to drive until I spotted something out of the ordinary. A man in a hood followed close behind a woman and I could see his eyes on her handbag.

“Harry, stop the car.” I said, just seconds before the man took off with the purse. “Stop the car!” 

Harry slammed on the breaks and I quickly got out of the car, running after the man and calling out for him to stop. Behind me I heard the sirens being turned on as Harry raced off to cut the man off in the car. We went down an alley and Harry stopped the car on the other end, leaving the man with no other choice but to turn left into a dead end.

“Police! Put your hands up!” I demanded as I pulled out my gun, but it was too late. 

BANG!


	3. It's Okay Not to be Okay

My back hit the ground and the wind was knocked out of my lungs. I was in a daze for a moment until I saw the man try to run past me. With a rush of determination I grabbed my gun from it's holster and turned onto my stomach, taking aim before firing my weapon. The man let out a yelp as he fell to the ground holding onto his bleeding rear end.

“You bitch! You shot me in the ass!” he yelled.

“You shot me first, asshole!” I shouted back as I saw Harry run around the corner, immediately forcing the weapon from the man and cuffing him. I rolled onto my back once more, struggling to breathe as the pain hit me.

Harry’s POV

As soon as the other squad car arrived I passed off the purse thief to Liam who happened to be in it.

“That bitch shot me.” The man huffed as we forced him into the car.

“You’re lucky that’s all she did.” I snapped as I rushed back to Charlie who looked a bit panicked.

I immediately opened her police jacket and shirt, seeing that the bullet had been stopped by the vest but I knew there would be a nasty bruise there tomorrow.

“You’re alright. It hit the vest. Just breathe.” I tell her as I unstrap the vest so she could breathe easier.

“I’m starting to think I have some really bad luck.” She laughed a little as I kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her from sitting up until the paramedics got here.

“Well he could have shot you somewhere else without the vest. I would say you’re pretty lucky. Plus you shot him in the ass after being shot yourself.” I chuckled. “Were you aiming for it?”

“Maybe.” She smiled, easing my worries about how she would handle getting shot.

I figured a rookie would be terrified. Hell, even I was. The first time I got shot I had a panic attack and I wouldn’t go out on the streets again for a couple days after, but she seemed to be taking it like a pro.

I stayed with her as the paramedics looked her over, calling Jensen to let him know she was alright because he had heard about it and was trying to get ahold of me. I could tell he was sort of like a father figure to her and he cared for her as well so I made sure he knew she was doing okay. Though he did give me an ear full about doing my job of keeping her safe.

“Jensen, you know how she is. She’s stubborn and she took off before I could even say anything.” I said over the phone.

He sighed.

“Whatever. Just make sure she goes home. Knowing her she’ll probably try to get back out and work.” he said.

“I got it. I’ll see you later.” I said to him before hanging up.

Charlie carefully stepped down from the ambulance, rubbing the sore spot on her abdomen that was already bruising. Sure the vests kept the bullet from piercing flesh, but it still felt like getting hit by a rock at eighty miles per hour.

“Alright. Let’s get going. We have an asshole to book.” She said.

“You mean I have an asshole to book and you have a couch to sit on for the rest of the day.” I tell her.

Her brows furrowed and a small, very adorable pout formed on her lips.

“I’m fine, Harry.” She argued.

“No, you’re not. You need to go home. Captain’s orders.” I said. 

She sighed, knowing that she couldn’t disobey an order from him. Thankfully she didn’t argue when I took her to the station to get changed then drove her home to the familiar house where her parents used to live. I guess it had been passed on to her after her father disappeared and her mother was moved out.

“Do you need anything before I go?” I asked her.

“No. I’m fine, Harry… but thank you.” She said with a soft smile as she carefully got out. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She shut the door before I could argue with her and I smiled, shaking my head as I watched her walk to the door. I waited until she made it inside before finally taking off to get back to work.

Charlie’s POV

I walked into the familiar building that I has been visiting every morning before work, letting out a soft sigh when I saw my mother sitting in a chair in the corner of the room as she watched the birds through the window.

“Charlie? I didn’t expect you to be here this afternoon.” Lucy, one of the kind women who took care of my mother and other patients said to me.

“I got off work early. How is she doing?” I asked her.

“As good as usual. She’s been asking for Tom though.” Lucy said, making my heart ache.

I nod and walk over to my mother, quietly pulling a chair over to sit next to her and carefully sitting down as I winced.

“I already told you. I’m not talking until I speak to my husband.” She said stubbornly.

“Mum… It’s Charlie. I’m your daughter.” I said to her as I reached over to hold her hand.

“Charlie? I would never name my daughter such a name.” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“It was dad’s idea… but he said it was to name me after grandpa Charles so you went along with it.” I explained to her.

“My father’s name was Charles.” she said.

“Yes, it was. He used to watch me quite a bit while you and dad worked.”

I loved my grandfather and dealing with his death was hard on me because he was the one who practically raised me. He went to every school event or sports game so I would at least have someone there to support me when my parents couldn’t make it. Even when he got older and his aches got worse.

As I watched my mother’s expression I could tell that she remembered her father but she still couldn’t quite grasp the fact that I was her daughter. It killed me that she didn’t remember me, especially when my dad disappeared and I needed her there for comfort. She didn’t even know what happened to him. She just thought he was caught up at work and she was being held against her will at a treatment center she didn’t belong at. She looked over at me after a moment and I could see a slight fear in her eyes which I knew meant she was about to have another episode.

“Who are you? Where is my husband? Tom!?” she yelled, frantically searching for him.

“Mum, calm down. It's Charlie. Your daughter.”

I tried to calm her but she just screamed at me not to touch her. A few nurses rushed over to hold her down as they sedated her and got her into a wheelchair. I bit my lip as I saw her slump into it before they took her back to her room. I quietly followed and stood next to her bed once she was lying down asleep.

“I miss you… so much.” I whispered, my voice breaking as I leaned down to kiss her head. “I love you, mummy.”

I set the flowers I had brought her in the vase on her nightstand to replace the wilting ones I had placed in there a few days prior. I took a deep breath then headed home to the empty house that still caused me so much pain.


	4. Taken

A couple months passed and I was finally starting to get the hang of things. Though I still had a lot to learn it seemed as though Harry and I were making quite the team with multiple arrests, car chases, and takedowns under our belts. The one thing that I wasn’t prepared for was my first dead body….

There had been a string of murders lately, but today was the only one that I would actually witness first hand. Before now it was all just stories I heard among the rookies and chatter around the office, but nothing would prepare me for how gruesome this death would be.

The girl was in her mid to late twenties with dark hair and blue eyes that stared blankly at me as I looked down at her. Her skin was pale, lips a blueish purple color to suggest that she had been submerged in water which made sense because of where we found her. It wasn’t too far from the river and it went with the serial killer’s M.O. Her neck had bruises from where the killer had held her down and she had bruising on her chest from being given CPR multiple times.

From what we had gathered so far from the other victims, the medical examiner concluded that they were drowned multiple times. The killer would hold them under until they passed out then give them CPR to bring them back before drowning them again. This process was repeated as many times as it took before the victim finally died. It suggested that our killer had a God complex and liked the idea of being able to give and take life. 

My stomach churned as I faintly heard Harry saying my name. Before I could answer him I quickly stepped away and emptied my stomach into a nearby bush, feeling his hand rubbing my back.

“You alright?” he asked me.

I nodded slightly, even though I wasn’t so sure. All of these girls looked similar and were around the same age. But what really got to me was the fact that they looked like me.

“We can let someone else take this, Charlie.” he said softly.

“No. I’m fine. I can handle it. It’s just…” 

“I know. The first body is the worst, but don’t expect it to be your last or the worst you’ll ever see. You’d be surprised at the things these sick bastards come up with.” he said to me.

“Gee. Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” I say sarcastically.

“Just telling the truth.” he shrugged.

We finally went back to the body and took down statements from the two joggers who found the body next to the trail before heading back to the station to do some research while detectives were talking with the family members and friends. As I looked over the case files I noticed that the first two victims had been at the same club the night they disappeared and if this girl ended up being the same then we would have our abduction point.

“Harry, I found something.” I say as I walked into his office.

He looked up from his desk as I went over and showed him the copies of statements that were written by the previous victims’ friends.

“Both Lacie Jeffries and Tara Wilson were at Skyline the night of their disappearance. Their friends said that the victims were with them one minute and the next they were gone. Two days later they show up dead. If Stacey Hill’s friend says the same thing then maybe this is where the killer is taking his victims from.” I explained.

“That’s good work, Gray. Now get me a coffee.” he said.

I furrowed my brows and glared at him as he smiled sweetly at me.

“Please and thank you.” he said.

I rolled my eyes and went off to get him his damned coffee, coming back as he was talking with the lead detective about what I discovered.

“If this guy sticks to his three day between killings plan then we have until tomorrow night to try to catch him.” Detective Mahoney said to Harry.

“Why not just send me in?” I suggested, causing them both to look at me. “I mean, I fit the M.O. I could go there and get information or maybe figure out who this guy is.” 

“No.” Harry said.

At the same time that Mahoney said, “Yes.”

“Absolutely not. Are you crazy? She’s just a rookie. She has no experience with-” Harry started, but I cut him off.

“Actually I was top in my class at the academy when it came to undercover exercises.” I told him, which only seemed to piss him off even more.

“No. You’re not doing it.” he said.

“Well I think it’s up to her. If she thinks she’s ready then she can do it.” Mahoney said.

“I can do it.” I nodded.

“Perfect. Study up on how the victims were like the nights they were taken and find something similar to wear. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.” Mahoney said before leaving the room.

I turned to Harry who shut the door behind him then turned to look at me.

“Charlie, this is a bad idea.” he said.

“Harry, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” I said.

He looked at me for a moment then let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, but if you feel like anything is off you get the hell out. Do you understand me? I don’t care if you blow the operation. I made a promise to Tom to protect you and I plan to keep it.” he said.

I couldn’t help but smile at how worried he was. We had grown quite closer the past couple months and I had complete faith in him to keep me safe.

“Awe. You actually care about me. How cute.” I teased as I pinched his cheek.

“Shut up. I just don’t want to be held responsible for you getting into trouble.” he argued, though the smile that he was fighting back told me otherwise.

~.:o:.~

When the day finally came I was more than prepared for the character I had to slip into in order to attract the serial killer. I put on a short black dress and heels to match, styling my hair into waves just like the other girls had that night. Apparently all three girls had also been going through a rough break up so that was the reason for going out drinking, which shouldn’t be too bad to figure out. 

Harry sat in the back of the surveillance van with me while we waited for the all clear from everyone else who was also undercover inside and outside of the club to make sure nothing bad happened to me. I let him put an audio microphone on me disguised as a necklace, biting my lip gently as he stood close behind me to put it on. 

“Are you sure you can handle this?” He asked me as he knelt down and turned my chair around to face him.

“I’ll be fine, Harry. I got this.” I assured him, though I honestly felt like I was going to puke.

He sighed softly and reached up to cup my cheek. 

“Remember the code we came up with? Ask the bartender who is picking the music if you feel like something is wrong and I’ll come get you okay?” He said.

I nodded slightly, seeing the worry in his eyes throwing me off focus for a moment until a banging on the van door snapped me out of it. Harry dropped his hand and I took a deep breath.

“Wish me luck.” I smiled weakly then got out of the van and headed inside.

I took my spot at the bar, ordering a drink that I knew I had to fake drink out of in order to stay focused on the task of figuring out who our killer was. At first I was just ordering drinks and thankfully the owner of the club had been working with us so he allowed Liam Payne, another officer and friend of Harry’s to work as a bartender so he mostly gave me watered down drinks with club soda. Despite only having water for the most part I acted a little more drunk as the night went on and danced with a few guys before returning back to the bar. 

It was then that the other bartender who had been working that night seemed to take interest in me. He brought me a drink on the house which I knew I couldn’t actually drink, especially since he could be a suspect.

“What brings you out tonight?” He asked with a smile.

“Trying to get over my dickhead of an ex.” I slurred my words slightly and went to take a sip but pulled it back to say something else. “You know he was such a dick. He slept with my best friend you know. And the night of our engagement party, too.” 

“Wow, he sounds like a real ass. I’m sorry that happened to you, but you’ll find someone better.” He assured me.

“I hope so. I'm so tired of attracting all of these horrible men.” I sighed.

“Drink up. Forget about all of them and have some fun tonight alright?” He smiled.

I smiled and nodded, taking a drink but I really just let it go into my mouth then back into the cup without actually having a sip. He seemed to lose interest after that, but then another guy sat next to me and it didn’t take long for him to try to get me to leave with him.

“I don’t know about that. I’m just getting over a breakup and the last thing I need is more drama.” I said as I tucked some hair behind my ear, signaling Harry that I had a feeling this guy was the one.

I saw him perk up out of the corner of my eye as he sat on the other end of the bar, stepping closer just in case he needed to get me out of the situation.

“Come on. It’ll be fun. You can forget all about him.” He said as he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me off the stool I was sitting on.

“Hey, let go of me.” I said as I tried to pull my arm away, but he kept at it so Harry finally rushed over and grabbed onto him.

“She said leave her alone.” He growled, grabbing the man by the front of his jacket.

“Fuck off, asshole. I saw her first.” The drunk man huffed as he pushed Harry away.

Of course he didn’t like that so the next thing I knew Harry was dragging the man outside to throw him into a waiting unmarked cop car to take into custody for questioning. 

“Good work, kid. Let’s get out of here.” Jensen said into my ear piece.

I subtly nodded, but as I stood up I suddenly felt dizzy and shook my head slightly. Something didn’t feel right and I felt myself starting to panic a little as I went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face. Maybe Liam put a little more alcohol than he should have in my drinks? The room began to spin and I gripped onto the sink.

“H-Harry… Something’s wrong.” I said, hoping he would hear me.

“Charlie? Where are you?” I heard his voice a moment later.

“Bathroom… I think I’ve been drugged… I-”

My voice slurred and I caught the sight of the other bartender in the mirror before falling to the ground as everything went black.

Harry’s POV

“Charlie, answer me.” I said as I rushed through the crowd in order to get to the bathroom.

I burst through the doors, scaring some girls who were drunkly applying their makeup.

“Charlie?” I called as I looked everywhere in the bathroom. After asking the girls a few questions I realized that she had been taken and I immediately ran outside through the back door just as a car was speeding off. Of course since we thought we had our guy no one was watching the exit so the psycho took off with Charlie without anything in his way.

“Fuck!” 

I ran my hands through my hair, feeling a sense of panic wash over me at the thought of this guy having his hands on her.

“Harry? What’s going on?” Jensen asked as he came out the back exit.

“He’s got her. He’s got Charlie.”


	5. The Countdown

Harry’s POV

The second I got back to the station I started going through camera footage to figure out what direction he took, but I lost the car after the fourth camera. He must have known where all of them were and made sure to drive down a road that didn’t have cameras or he could have switched cars. So I sent out Liam and his rookie to check out the last camera location to see if they could find any in the surrounding businesses that we didn’t know about. 

By six the next morning I had exhausted every idea I could think of, unable to find anything that would lead me in the right direction. The rest of the city was on high alert searching for our fellow missing officer, but no one seemed to have any leads. I sit at my desk with my head in my hands, sighing deeply as I struggled to stay awake.

“Styles. Go home. You’re no use to her exhausted. We still have another thirty six hours and there are patrols around the river just in case he takes her there.” Jensen said as he stood in the doorway.

“What if this time is different? What if he breaks his pattern and kills her sooner than the others?” I asked him.

“If he tries Charlie is capable of getting out of it. She’ll be alright.” He said, though he sounded like he was telling it mostly to himself.

I sighed deeply and simply nodded, knowing I needed to sleep but I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to because I was so worried about her. After a moment I reluctantly got up and stuffed the files into my bag before following him outside into the hallway.

“We’ll keep looking. Go get some rest.” he said as he patted my back.

I nodded once more then headed home, sighing deeply as I laid back on my bed. I was exhausted but I kept wondering what he was doing with Charlie. Was he hurting her or touching her? The thought made me sick to my stomach. I just knew I had to find her soon.

Charlie’s POV

When I finally woke up I found myself locked up in a small bedroom on the lowest level of what seemed to be a house in a suburb of London. After the groggy feeling from the drugs finally wore off I looked around some more, seeing a bunch of similar looking houses across the street but I doubted that I could get any of the people to help me since there were bushes in the way of the window. 

Upon closer inspection of the door I saw that the handle was locked and there was another chain lock on it which I could see through the small window that was on the door. Of course my first instinct was to try to figure out a way to escape so I looked around until I found a wire hanger in the closet and formed it into a hook in hopes of getting the lock undone, but before I could get very far my captor suddenly appeared at the window. I jumped and immediately scrambled backwards as he quickly unlocked the door, following my steps forwards.

My heart began to pound in my chest as I became pinned to the wall, thinking back to the body of his latest victim and everything that was done to her. I was next and maybe he was a little more nervous about such a big police presence around the city that he wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.

He stood there for a moment and studied me before finally reaching up to touch my cheek. I jumped and moved my head away out of fear, tensing as he suddenly gripped onto my neck. It became hard to breathe and I tried to pry his hand off my neck but he was much stronger than me, especially now that the lack of oxygen to my brain was making me dizzy. 

“Don’t be afraid. When this is all over you’ll be happy and free.” He said as he brought his other hand up to caress my face.

“Don’t touch me.” I snapped, finally managing to bring my leg up and knee him in the gut. 

He let go of me and the first thing I did was stumble towards the door, making it upstairs and to the first phone I saw. It was a cell phone so I knew it would take longer to track so I immediately called 911, managing to give them a short description of the area before I was struck in the head and fell limply to the floor.

 

Harry’s POV

My phone woke me up after sleeping for a good six hours. I was groggy when I first answered, but the moment I heard what Jensen said on the other end I immediately woke up and rushed to get ready. I drove to the station as fast as I could, running into the office where I saw a few of her fellow rookies crowded around a desk. I assumed it was one of theirs and as I pushed them away I saw that it belonged to Dylan who I had learned to be Charlie’s best friend and ex lover back in their academy days. When she had first told me that of course I was jealous, especially after seeing how they still interacted like best friends who were far too close for my liking, but she assured me that they would never would out as an actual couple which helped a little.

“What do you got?” I asked him.

“We got this call fifteen minutes ago. I know it’s her. I recognize her voice.” He said as he played back the recording.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

“I'm in a suburb. Blue townhouses across the street. Rose bushes in front of the house I’m in. I-”

A thump was heard over the other end of the line and what seemed like a small struggle before the line suddenly went dead on her end. She must have been known one of us would recognize her voice so she was trying to give us her location in case the call was too short to be tracked. It was smart, but also very dangerous because it could piss off the asshole who took her and cause him to move up the kill time.

“O’Brien, I want you to go out and canvas Belmont Circle. They have townhouses there. There are some more on the North side of the city, and West Ash street. You other rookies take your T.O.s and go out there. Let’s find where these roses are.” I ordered.

They rushed off to do as they were told and I grabbed my gun from my desk as well as my badge before running off to do the same. Half of our men were out looking for her right now so hopefully someone would come up with a clue or find the house before it was too late.

As we were out searching I got a call from Liam saying that they found the house we were looking for and it was under the bartender’s parents’ names so it had to be where he had her. I sped there with my lights on so people would get out of my way and as soon as I arrived we burst through the door and searched the house high and low. Right away I noticed that a cell phone had been thrown against a wall and the pieces were scattered across the floor. This definitely had to be the right spot. 

We cleared the main floor and while another team went upstairs I led mine downstairs, finding no one there so I holstered my weapon and looked around. The first place I went was the locked bedroom and peered out the window to see exactly what Charlie described. She was here, probably just an hour before us, maybe less. I fought the urge to throw things around the room in case there was evidence in here.

“Harry, look at this.” Jensen called.

I stepped out of the room and walked over to the other side of the basement where a light had been turned on to reveal all of the victims and their photos on the wall. He had taken their photos while they were unconscious on the bed or cowering in the corner as he had them tied up unable to move. When I saw Charlie’s I became sick to my stomach. She was lying unconscious on the bed in one and another was of her lying on the floor bound and gagged with blood seeping from a wound on her head. There were obvious bruises on her neck as well so he had to have choked her once already.

“We have to find her, Jensen.” I said quietly. “She fought him once already. He’s going to kill her.”


	6. Running Out of Time

Charlie’s POV

I came to and found myself tied up in the back of a van. My head was throbbing from getting hit and I regretted turning back to look at him just as he was hitting me because it allowed the cut to drip blood down the side of my face. I tried to get myself up, but as I tried to sit up my headache worsened and I got a little dizzy. Instead of trying to sit up I turned myself so I could see out the tinted black window, seeing trees pass over us as we drove down what I assumed was a dirt road based on how it sounded and how bumpy it was. 

The problem was that trees and dirt roads meant that we were outside of town and that much closer to the place where I was to be drowned. As much as I tried not to panic it was hard to under the circumstances. I had barely been on the job for six months and I had already been shot at and kidnapped by a serial killer. It almost made me want to quit and just find a normal, less dangerous, job. 

We soon came to a stop and I listened as he walked around the van then opened the door, blinding me with the bright sunlight. At least it was still daylight which meant I still had some time before he was planning on killing me.

“Don’t fight or I’ll have to hurt you again.” He warned me.

I nodded slightly, unable to speak because of the cloth gag he had wrapped around my head and placed in my mouth to keep me from speaking. He pulled me to the edge of the van and held onto my arm as he helped me out of the van. I looked around, seeing that we were now at a cabin with the lake just a short distance away down a dirt path. Part of me wanted to fight and try to get away, but the other half knew that if I did that it would make him more likely to kill me right now. If I went along with what he wanted then I had more time and Harry had more time to hopefully find me.

I allowed him to lead me inside and for once he sat me on a chair at the table instead of locking me away. He brought over some extra rope and tied me down to the chair to make sure I didn’t escape as he began to cook some food. My stomach growled a bit at the smell, having last eaten about a day ago. While he cooked I kept glancing around the room, quietly plotting my escape if I absolutely had no choice but to fight my way out.

What surprised me was that when he finished he dished up two plates and walked over to untie my gag, allowing my sore jaw to rest. He held up a glass of water to my mouth and I hesitated, but he practically forced it down my throat so I had to drink it anyway. It helped my dry throat, but I was nervous about him drugging me again.

“You need to eat.” He said as he got a fork full of food for me then held it up to my mouth.

I kept my mouth shut and shook my head.

“I’m not hungry.” I mumbled.

He sighed and set the fork down, deciding to let it go for the time being as he ate his own food. I watched him for a few minutes before finally speaking up.

“Why are you doing this? Why did you kill those girls?” I asked him.

“I didn’t kill them!” He shouted suddenly, causing me to jump. He was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I set them free. They were so miserable with their lives and this was the only way for them to be happy.”

“What gives you the right to decide that? What makes you think that they won’t just move on and find someone new who can make them happy?” I argued.

“Because I know them. They come in all the time complaining about someone new. One day a man will hurt them far more than they realize. I did them a favor.”

“By killing them?!”

“I saved them! Just like I saved Alice!” He yelled. “He kept hurting her so when we went down to the lake to play I saved her.” 

“Who is Alice?” I asked. “Was that your sister?”

“Stop talking about her!” He said as he gripped onto his head.

“Who was hurting her?” I pressed.

“He was never a nice man. I told mother not to marry him but she wouldn’t listen to me.” He growled.

“What happened to him? Did you tell the police?”

“I did but they didn’t believe me! So I had to protect her myself! I shot the son of a bitch and dumped him in the river!”

I immediately thought back to when I had caught a peek of my dad’s case files back when I was younger, seeing that a man had been shot so many times in the head that they couldn’t identify him. He had also been in the river for so long that it was hard to even get prints off the body. They never did figure out who the killer was.

“You were protecting your sister… That was brave of you to do that for her.” I said, softening my tone as I tried to get him to calm down. “You were right to kill the bastard.”

“I was?” He asked, shocked that I was saying such things.

“Yes, you were. I want to help you. Will you tell me your name?” I asked.

“Michael…” He mumbled.

“Michael… Could you untie me please?”

“No!” He shouted.

It was obvious that he had some mental issues that were deeper than just him being a psychopath and I knew I had to tiptoe around him if I was going to make it out of this alive.

“Okay. Okay. It’s alright. I don’t have to be untied. What about just my arms? So I can eat on my own? Would that be okay?” I asked.

He stared at me for a moment then hesitantly untied my arms so I could pick up the fork with my bound hands and eat.

“Thank you.” I said calmly, seeing that he pulled a gun out from the back of his pants and placed it on the table.

“Don’t try anything…” He warned.

“I won’t. I promise.” I said, trying not to feel scared but the whole time I ate little bites I felt my stomach churning and I could barely keep the food down.

When we finished he took me down to the cellar and demanded that I sit against a wooden pillar. I did as I was told and allowed him to tie me to it before he left me in darkness. What he didn’t know was that I had snuck one of the butter knives into my bra and managed to move it out into my hand as I started to cut away at the ropes. It was a long process, but I finally cut through and crept up the stairs.

Michael seemed to be busy watching some home movies on the tv and I immediately saw the resemblance between all of his victims and his sister. She was a beautiful young girl, but it was obvious that her stepfather had been abusing her which was something that messed Michael up for the rest of his life. I quietly moved around the kitchen in search of his car keys, finally finding them but as I turned to walk away I knocked a picture off the counter and it crashed onto the floor. 

Michael spun around and I immediately ran for the van but as I was getting the door open he shot into the window and I quickly ducked, dropping the keys as I ran in the opposite direction.

Unlucky for me… it was the direction of the lake…

Harry’s POV

“Officer Styles! We got a hit on the company van he drives. It was caught driving out of town heading north.” One of the rookies called out to me.

“What else do we got? Does he own property up there by the lake?” I asked as I looked over the map of the city, seeing that it was the only body of water in that direction so he had to be going there.

“No, he doesn’t.” The rookie replied.

“Wait! He had his name changed when his mother remarried his stepfather. His real name was Michael Kane. His birth father owns a lake cabin on the south side.” O’Brien said as he rushed over with the address.

“Let’s go!” I shouted, running out because I knew we didn’t have much time.

Charlie’s POV

I tried running along the shoreline to make it to the next house, but Michael proved to be much faster than me. I was tackled into the sandy beach and I squirmed trying to get out of his grip.

“Let me go!” I yelled as I fought him off, managing to get a good hit in that gave him a bloody nose.

I scrambled for his gun but he grabbed onto my leg and dragged me in the opposite direction towards the water.

“No! NO!” I screamed as he got hold of my arms and forced them behind me with one arm while the other hand gripped onto my hair and shoved my head under the water.

I struggled as my lungs screamed for air, unable to get a decent footing as I began to lose consciousness. Despite my best efforts to get away I was quickly becoming weaker and weaker until I finally passed out. As he did with his other victims he pulled me back to shore then performed CPR until I was coughing up water, barely getting a proper breath in before he dragged me back out and put me back under the water. This time he just forced me onto my back as I weakly tried to hit him or scratch at his face to get him to stop. 

It was during this time that I began to lose hope. This was how I was going to die. This psychotic man was going to drown me until I died and I would never get to tell Harry that I thought his laugh was adorable or that I adored seeing that dimpled smile of his on his face. I would never get to feel what it was like to kiss those lips that I thought about pressing mine to on a daily basis… I would never be his…

Harry’s POV

Jensen didn’t even stop the car before I opened the door and jumped out, running towards the lake. I knew that if he had her out there I didn’t have time to waste by searching the house so I let everyone else do that while I went straight for the lake. Jensen had the same idea because he followed close behind me with O’Brien. 

When I finally broke free of the trees I saw him pulling her back out to the water and holding her under as she weakly fought him off. I yelled to get his attention and thankfully he dropped her to try to run.

“I got him! Get Charlie!” Jensen yelled as he took off after the man who ran into the trees, O’Brien following him for backup.

I quickly pulled off my shirt and threw my gun and phone onto the beach before running into the water and pulling her limp body back to shore. I immediately plugged her nose and blew air into her mouth before doing compressions like he had done to her who knows how many times before me.

“Come on, Charlie. Don’t do this to me.” I said as I kept counting in my head until I reached thirty.

I blew two more puffs of air into her lungs before going back to compressions, repeating this process long after Jensen had returned from putting the asshole who did this to her into a waiting squad car. Dylan watched helplessly as I struggled with my own emotions, allowing tears to form in my eyes as I blew into her mouth once more.

“Harry…” Jensen said after a moment. “Harry, she’s gone.”

“No! No, she’s going to be fine!” I yelled as I kept going, knowing it would take a couple more minutes for the ambulance to get out here. If I could just keep the flow going…

“Harry-” Jensen started, but was cut off as Charlie finally coughed up the water that was in her lungs.

I immediately rolled her onto her side and let out a deep breath of relief. She whimpered and tried to get away from me, thinking I was him, but I carefully pulled her onto my lap and held her close.

“Charlie, it's me. It’s okay. You’re okay.” I said to her as I brushed her wet hair from her face so she could see me.

She looked so scared and the moment she realized who I was she choked out a sob and clung onto me as I rocked her a little to calm her. I kept whispering comforting words to her, refusing to let go as the paramedics arrived and she made no effort to let go of me either. They gave us a moment longer, but I knew that she had to get to a hospital to get checked out for any injuries.

“Charlie, you have to go with them.” I said to her.

“No.” She whimpered, holding onto me tighter even though she still had a pretty weak grip after all she went through.

“I’ll go with you, but they have to put you on the stretcher okay? I’ll be right there. I promise.” I said to her.

It took her a moment but she finally let me go and allowed me to carefully set her onto the gurney. I lean down and kiss her forehead then take her hand into mine, not even bothering to tell any of the other officers where I was going as I walked beside her and hopped up into the ambulance once they loaded her in. My hand immediately went back to hers and I placed it to my lips, kissing her knuckles for a few seconds before looking down at her pale face. The water had been freezing so they gave us both blankets to put on as we were rushed to the hospital.

As promised I stayed by her side the whole time they were looking her over and getting x-rays. She had a small concussion and a couple broken ribs from being given CPR so much but other than that she was going to be okay physically. Despite how well she had taken getting shot I knew that this would be much different and I wouldn’t even be upset if she decided to quit her job. All I wanted was for her to be safe. We were moved into her own room and I sat next to her on the bed as she asked and kept my arms around her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“You know I imagined our first kiss to be very different.” She said after a long moment.

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her random comment.

“I did, too… but since you’ll be on leave for a couple weeks we’ll have plenty of time to fix that.” I said to her.

That beautiful smile of hers finally appeared on her face and I couldn’t help but do the same. I had been so terrified of losing her these past few days and I was reminded of just how dangerous this job could be. It also reminded me to live in the moment and stop trying to follow rules or waiting for the right moment to come. I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted her and from that moment forward I was going all in.


	7. Blast From the Past

I sat in the bath at home, trying to relax my sore muscles as I finally washed off my body. It had been a few days since I had gotten out of the hospital, but I was still pretty sore thanks to my broken ribs. They would put me off the streets for at least two months and I would be stuck at desk duty until I was fully healed and captain even ordered me to have a psych eval done. I suppose I understood why he needed me to go to therapy before getting back to work, but I felt pretty great considering what happened.

I laid my head back against the edge of the tub, allowing the warm water to soothe my body. After a moment I put shampoo in my hair then tilted my head back to rinse it out, but just as I was starting to sit up two hands grabbed onto my shoulders and forced my head under the water. I struggled to see whoever it was due to the soapy water and flailed my arms around as I tried to get up. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and just as I caught a glimpse of Michael’s face it was replaced by Harry’s as he rushed into the bathroom.

“Charlie!” He said louder to get my attention.

I bolted upright and immediately regretted it as my ribs shot pain through my body. I curled forwards into my knees as they were brought up to my chest, trying to breathe through the pain. Despite the fact that it was an obvious nightmare I was actually in my bathtub at him and had fallen asleep while taking a bath. Though it was definitely awkward that he was in here while I was naked in front of him it still felt nice as he rubbed my back soothingly and gently brushed the hair from my face.

Harry’s POV

I had taken a couple days off as well so I could take care of Charlie while she was finally home. When she was in the hospital I stayed the night with her the first night and she woke up every couple hours to nightmares. The same thing happened when I came back after work the next day. She seemed to be having one again now that I had caught her panicking in the bath tub. She was so exhausted that she must have dozed off while laying in there and when the nightmare hit she nearly went under for real. I happened to rush in just in time to pull her up before her mouth and nose went under. I hated seeing her so afraid and in pain like this. She didn’t deserve it. Not after everything she had been through. 

“Are you okay?” I asked her as I brushed her hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes as she looked over at me.

She shook her head slightly and leaned closer so I wrapped my arms around her carefully and held her for a moment as she sat in the tub while I sat on the floor outside of it. She sniffled softly and I stroked her hair, keeping her close until she had calmed down. Without a word I grabbed the washcloth she had been using and gently began to wash her body, staying clear of the more private areas. When I finished helping her bathe I looked away as I held her hand and helped her step out of the tub, grabbing a towel and holding it out to her. As much as I wanted to see her naked I knew now wasn’t the right time.

I felt her hand touch my cheek and gently turn my face to look at her as she had the towel on. We locked eyes for a moment then she leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth gently, letting her lips linger for a moment before she took my hand and led me out into her bedroom. As I had many times before I helped her get dressed then watched her carefully lay back on her bed, wincing in pain at every small movement. Without having to be told I grabbed her pain medication and brought it over along with a fresh glass of water.

“Thank you.” She said softly as she took the pills then drank some of the water before allowing herself to relax into the bed.

“So, what movie do you want to watch today? I brought a whole stack of them.” I said as I grabbed my bag and brought the movies over so she could choose from them. 

“I don’t care. You pick. I’m probably going to pass out from these pills again anyway.” she said as she pulled the blankets over her body.

I nodded and put in The Notebook since it was the first one I grabbed. Once it was going I went to sit on the chair she had in the corner of her room but she grabbed my hand, gently tugging me towards the bed so I would lay with her. I smiled softly and laid down beside her, propping myself up against the headboard with a couple pillows. She shifted closer and snuggled into my side, a feeling I was starting to love. My arm wrapped around her, giving her forehead a gentle kiss as we started to watch the movie.

Of course she had to comment about my choice of movie and teased me about even owning it in the first place, but I tried to pass it off as the movie being my sister’s that she left at my place. She didn’t believe me, but thankfully she let it go to save me further embarrassment. We had barely gotten to the part where they started dating when she fell asleep against me. 

I watched her sleep for a little while, taking in how beautiful she looked despite the bags under her eyes and the bruises on her neck. It killed me to know that she went through so much before I got to her, but I was glad that I at least got there before she was killed. I never would have forgiven myself if I had lost her. Sure, we had only known each other for a few months, but that was all it took to fall for her.

After working side by side with her I had seen first hand how kind she was and how she took the time to comfort the victims of crimes we responded to. How she comforted crying children who didn’t know what was going on. She was sweet and funny. Quite adorable with dogs and babies, too. Plus she could easily full on tackle a grown man and kick his ass which I oddly found sexy.

As she slept I decided to head down to make her dinner, setting up her table before going in search of candles. I somehow wandered into her father’s office and was shocked to find photos and newspaper clippings scattered around the wall along with notes and strings to tie crimes together. All of them seeming to revolve around her father’s disappearance. My eyebrows furrow as I looked through the case files she had, seeing that she was obviously struggling to come to terms with his death which worried me.

“I’m not crazy…” 

I turned around to see Charlie standing in the doorway watching me. I could tell she was scared of what I would think of her after seeing this, but I honestly didn’t know what to think.

“Charlie… Your father-”

“Is alive. I know he is, Harry.” She argued.

“How do you know?” I asked. “He stopped checking in and his last update he said he was getting close to finding the evidence we needed to take down the Irish Mob in London. They’re known for covering their tracks-”

“I know what they’re known for, Harry. I know everything there is to know about the O’Connor family. I’m telling you he is alive. He tried contacting me a week after he disappeared and then I saw him a few weeks ago.” she said.

“Wait. You saw him?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

“He was at the care home my mother is at. I just caught a glimpse of him as I walked out the door and then he was gone. He was dressed as the janitor.” she explained.

“Charls… maybe you just think you saw him…” I started, but she shook her head.

“No! I know it was him, Harry! God, this is exactly why I didn’t want to tell anyone. They would think I’m fucking crazy.”

I could see how frustrated and upset she was as her eyes watered. When I tried to walk over to comfort her she shook her head and moved away from me.

“Just get out.” She said quietly.

“Charlie, I-”

“Go!” she said louder.

I sighed deeply and reluctantly grabbed my jacket and shoes then left the house. Instead of going home like I was supposed to I went to the station to do some paperwork to get my mind off things, but as I took a coffee break I passed by Mahoney’s office to find him looking at some surveillance footage of the O’Connors. They had been trying to get back into the mob to take them down for months, but they couldn’t really get anyone close enough without blowing their cover. I was about to head back to my office to continue working, but I stopped when I saw that the man who was driving the infamous mob boss, Murphy O’Connor.

“Hey, rewind that.” I said as I walked over to the tech guy who was controlling the computer for the detectives.

Mahoney looked at me oddly, but nodded to let the guy do what he was told. I told him to freeze it when I caught him closing the door with his back to the camera.

“Clear up that part of the picture.” I said as I pointed it out.

I watched as the tech zoomed in on the car window, clearing up the reflection of the man who they had yet to identify as the driver. My breath caught in my throat when I recognized the same hat I had seen my mentor wearing in a photo Charlie had in his office. "Holy shit... Print that off for me." I said to the tech. "Harry, what is it? Nothing. He just has the same hat as a friend of mine. I have to go." I said as I ran off with the photo and rushed back to Charlie's. "What do you want?" She muttered as she opened the door. I ignored her and walked past her to get to the office, grabbing the photo before showing it to her with the one i had just printed side by side. "You were right."


	8. Falling For You

Charlie’s POV

It had been a few weeks since Harry found evidence that finally made him believe that my father was still alive. Although I was stuck at home, he had been sneaking into the investigation and gathering everything he could before bringing it back to me so we could retrace my father’s steps the day he went missing. I had done that before, but now we had a couple missing pieces along with a new timeline to follow from the day the detectives caught wind of this new man on O’Connor’s team. We had gone back months and linked everything together, staying up late in the night to work on it.

“Charlie… You know what this could mean right?” Harry said one night as we ate some food while looking over the wall that had been completely covered with photos, newspaper clippings, and sticky notes. 

“He didn’t turn on us. There’s no way he would do anything like that willingly. They have to have something on him so he had no choice but to work with him.” I said as I stared at the wall.

“Why don’t we take a break? You have your first appointment with the therapist tomorrow so you should get some rest.” He said as he reached over to put a hand on my leg.

“I’m fine, Harry.” I lied, though I was completely exhausted and obviously not healing as fast as I should have because I wasn’t getting enough rest.

“No, you’re not. Come on.” 

The next thing I knew I was being lifted out of my chair and I couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle as he carried me bridal style up to my bedroom. He laid me gently onto the mattress and before he could cover me up I tugged on his hand to get him to lie down with me.

“I’m only staying if you do, too.” I said with a smile.

He looked at me for a moment and playfully rolled his eyes before kicking off his shoes and removing his shirt. He laid down next to me and I smiled as I snuggled up to him with my head on his chest.

Harry’s POV

She always looked so beautiful when she slept. So peaceful and at ease. It was a look that I had never seen on her when she was awake. She was always so worried lately and seemed stressed, though when she slept I could see all of that fade away. Ever since she found proof that her father was alive she had been working nonstop to figure out where they had been holding him, but the Irish were pretty secretive and constantly moved locations so it was hard to figure out where they were.

I was a little worried that she was overworking herself so I kept a close eye on her and stopped by when I could during the day. What worried me the most was how close we had gotten over the past month. She was always on my mind and I found myself calling to check up on her multiple times a day, but it was mostly just to hear her voice. Romance in the workplace was often frowned upon, especially when it came to a Training Officer and his Trainee. If the chief got wind of this he would put an immediate stop to it and that was one thing I wouldn’t be able to handle.

Charlie stirred in my arms, letting out a small whimper which caught my attention. She must have been having another nightmare. My eyebrows furrow and I gently brush my hand over her cheek in an attempt to calm her, but I paused when I heard her say my name.

“Don’t hurt him… Harry…” She whimpered, her breath becoming heavier.

When she started to panic I gently shook her until she woke up with a start. I gently run my fingers through her hair then hold her cheek as she looked at me.

“It’s alright. I’m right here.” I said softly.

Her hand reached up to hold mine that rested on her cheek, a sigh of relief falling from her lips when she realized it was just a dream.

“What were you dreaming about? I heard you say my name.” I asked curiously.

She looked away from me for a moment and sighed softly as she closed her eyes to avoid my gaze.

“I dreamt that we tried to go after my dad and they caught us and they were hurting you.” She said quietly as she finally looked up at me.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. Not when I have you to watch my back… and I’ll do the same for you. We’ll get your father back, Charlie. It’s just going to take a little time.” I assured her.

She looked at me for a moment then completely shocked me by grabbing onto the back of my neck and pulling me in. My eyes widen slightly as her lips crashed onto mine, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to return the kiss. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about this many times since I met her, but it was so much better than I had imagined it to be. Her tongue slid across my bottom lip but instead of letting her take control I took over and pushed my tongue into her mouth, earning a soft moan from her which drove me crazy. 

My hand slides down her side until it rested on her bum, gently squeezing her ass cheek as I felt her leg move up onto my hip. I could feel us quickly getting carried away, but I was brought back to reality when I moved my hand up under her shirt but brushed over her sensitive ribs which caused her to whimper.

“Shit. Sorry. I forgot.” I said as I quickly pulled my hand away.

“It’s okay.” She breathed, her eyes squeezed shut for a moment until the pain subsided. “I forgot I was broken for a bit.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly at her words, smiling as her bright blue eyes opened to stare up into mine. Before I could think twice I leaned in and kissed her lips once more, savouring the feeling of her plump lips against mine. It felt amazing and I already knew that I was hooked. This was a dangerous road I was traveling on, but I couldn’t care less.

Charlie’s POV - Three weeks later

I walked into the station feeling happy to be back, even though I still had another month of sitting behind a desk. The therapist had finally signed off for me to go back to work which I was happy about but I had yet to get my doctor to sign the papers for me to get back out on the streets. Not that I blamed him though. I still had some tenderness and it hurt like a bitch whenever I bumped into anything, but otherwise it was tolerable.

My first stop was the chief’s office to let him know I was doing okay and get my assignments, but right after that I went straight to Harry’s office. I felt like a giddy school girl as I walked up to the door that read Styles on the tag and knocked to get his attention as I saw him slaving over his paperwork for the week. When he looked up at me and gave me that dimpled smile I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

I had grown so much closer to him during my recovery and after that first kiss we couldn’t seem to keep our hands off each other. Though now that we were at work we would have to behave ourselves due to the stupid rules. There were ways of sneaking around though.

“Hello, Officer.” I said, playfully making my tone a little more sensual sounding as I stepped in and closed the door behind me.

“Don’t start putting dirty thoughts in my head. The day just started.” he chuckled.

I locked the door then walked over and pushed his chair back a little so I could straddle his lap. My hands cup his cheeks as I leaned in to kiss his lips softly. I hadn’t seen him since last night so I was craving his kisses. It seemed like he was as well because he gladly returned my kiss, his hands placed firmly on my hips.

“Mmm. Good morning to you, too.” he murmured with a smirk, capturing my lips once more. “Are you finally coming back to work?”

“Mhm. I have to answer phones and do desk work, but I suppose it’s not that bad. I just wanted to come see you before I got started.”

I gently run my fingers through his hair and smile softly, kissing his lips one last time before I got up.

“Speaking of which, I better get to work. Have fun with your paperwork.” I grinned, knowing he hated it.

I walked out of his office and left the door open like he had it before as I made my way to the desks in the main area of the station. It was there that I was greeted by my fellow rookie/best friend/ex lover, Dylan, who also seemed to be working desk for the time being.

“Charls! You’re back!” he smiled as he got up and hugged me.

“Ouch. Careful. Still a bit tender.” I said, causing him to immediately pull back.

“Sorry.” He said as he rubbed his neck sheepishly. “How have you been? I haven’t really seen you since… you know.”

“I’m good. I’ll admit it was rough at first, but Jensen and Harry helped me through it.” I said.

“Harry? What are you on a first name basis with him now?” he chuckled.

“He’s a friend, Dyl. He used to be my dad’s rookie so he’s been telling me stories about his rookie days with him.” I said, telling the truth but also leaving out the multiple times we’ve made out in the past month.

“Mhm. Well I’m riding with him today so I guess I’ll ask him his side of things.” he smirked.

“He wouldn’t tell you even if there was something going on between us, but good luck trying to get him to talk.” I said as I sat at the front desk to answer my first phone call of the day.

“-No, ma’am I can’t arrest your husband for cheating on you. Call a lawyer.” I said before hanging up.

This was going to be a long day.


	9. First Date

“When are we going to do something about my dad, Harry? It’s been months.” I complained as I got in the car with him.

“First of all, it’s only been six weeks since we found out he was alive. These things take time, Charlie. We still have no idea how many men are surrounding him at a time and we can’t make a plan to get him out if we don’t know where he is. You know how much they change their position. We need to do this carefully otherwise we could get killed ourselves. In the meantime we have a job to do.” he said.

I sighed deeply, obviously not liking the idea of leaving him with those monsters but I knew he was right. We would be risking so much by trying to run in right now and save him without knowing what we were up against. Not being able to do anything about it was killing me and I was so scared that when we were finally able to put a plan together it would be too late.

“Hey. Look at me.” 

Harry turned my chin so I was facing him and cupped my cheek with his hand.

“We’re going to get him out of this. I promise.” He said softly.

I tilted my head into his hand and nodded slightly, allowing him to pull me in and place a soft kiss on my lips.

“Thank you.” I murmured, giving him a soft smile.

Harry was the only one keeping me sane at this point and I was so thankful to have him. He had been close to my father as well so he was just as motivated to find him and I knew that I could trust him to keep it between us until we could figure out who else we needed to bring into the loop. I had been considering telling Jensen, but I also didn’t want to drag him into this when he had a family of his own to worry about. I couldn’t risk putting them in danger.

“So I was thinking we could go on a date tonight. What do you think?” Harry asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I mean we haven’t actually been on a date yet and we’ve been together for about a month and a half now.”

“We never have time for dates.” I told him.

“We’ll make time. We can put our secret investigation on hold for a night. He’s not going anywhere and he would want you to have at least some sort of normal life.” he said to me.

As much as I wanted to argue with him I knew he was right. We both needed a break from work and our search for my father. Maybe a night out would be good for us.

“Alright. Let’s go on a date then.” I smiled softly.

Later that night I pulled out the red dress I had yet to wear even though I bought it over a year ago. It was odd to think that I hadn’t been on a date since the early academy days when I was with Dylan. Even then I don’t think we ever went on a proper date. It was more like us sneaking out late at night or into each other’s rooms to make out or get laid. It was definitely a bit nerve racking going out with Harry now, especially when I was quickly falling for him.

After doing minimal makeup and some red lipstick I pulled my the top half of my hair back and in a small loose ponytail to keep it out of my face then slipped on the black heels I once again rarely wore. I gave myself one last look in the mirror then headed downstairs to meet Harry outside, having heard him come in a few minutes ago while I was finishing up. 

He looked up from the bouquet of roses that he held in his hands, smiling up at me which made me blush a little. Even more so as he kissed my cheek sweetly, handing over the flowers that he got me.

“These are beautiful, Haz. Thank you.” I smiled softly, placing them in a vase before I returned to his side.

“Ready to go?” He asked with a grin.

I smiled and nodded, taking his hand as we got in his car then drove to the restaurant that he decided to take me to. Although I assured him I didn’t need to be spoiled with more expensive things he insisted on taking me to one of the suit and tie type of restaurants in town. It was a nice change from what I was used to, but I also didn’t expect this to happen all the time. Especially on a cop’s salary. He ordered us some wine which I had never heard of then helped me decide what to eat because the language on the menu was so foreign to me. He got quite the kick out of my confusion, but I just playfully rolled my eyes.

“This is why I don’t come to places like this.” I said with a soft laugh.

“I don’t usually come to places like this either, but I figured after all we’ve been through we can spoil ourselves and try it out a bit. I mean it's worth going to once right?” He chuckled.

“I suppose that’s true… but if we don’t like it we’re hitting up the closest McDonald’s for some nuggets.”

“Deal.”

We smiled at each other and I played with his fingers while we held hands over the table, not really having much to talk about besides work. This was supposed to be a break from that, but I guess with both of us being married to our work it was a hard habit to break away from.

“I just think it’s worth trying out. What if we could get in? We could find my dad and finally bring him home.” I said as I took a break from eating my food to look at Harry.

“It’s too dangerous and you know it. Even if we did break your dad out we would still have the entire Irish Mob to deal with. They would never let him live even if we got him out safe. They would hunt him down until he really was dead and then we would be right back where we started. We need enough evidence to put them away for good before we even attempt to break your dad out. He knows that and I bet that’s why he hasn’t tried to escape yet. I’ve seen how your dad works and he’s perfectly capable of doing that if it were possible.” He said.

Of course he was the more logical thinker between the two of us and it annoyed me to no end because I knew he was right. It wasn’t that simple. We had to figure out a way to bust them for something that’s bad enough to put them away for life. In order to do that we needed almost airtight evidence to prove that which could take who knows how long.

“We can figure something out. Fake an arms deal or something. I can’t stand the thought of him being alive and having to work with them. Especially with my mum the way she is. Pretty soon she isn’t going to remember him at all. She barely talks about him anymore which means she’s forgetting. We have to at least try, Harry.”

He let out a deep sigh and shook his head, rubbing his face slightly.

“I’ll think about it.. I still think we should bring Jensen into this. We can trust him.” Harry added.

“I know we could trust him, but don’t you think I would have brought him in a long time ago if I thought it was a good idea? He’s got a family, Harry. I can’t put them at risk. Not when he’s done so much for me and my family.” I shook my head, refusing to drag him into something as dangerous as this.

“We’ll talk more about this later.” Harry said as he sat back in his chair to finish off his wine.

I sighed softly and nodded, deciding not to talk about that subject anymore.

“Enough about my family. I never hear you talk about yours. I barely even know your interests besides work and the good older music.” I said as I looked at him.

“Well. I grew up in Holmes Chapel, obviously. You knew that. My parents divorced when I was seven but both of them remarried great people and I have a few step siblings and my sister, Gemma. Robin, the man my mum married, was a great man. He was so good to her but unfortunately he died when I was in my early twenties so my mum has kind of just been dating around lately. It’s fine I guess, but I don’t trust half the men she goes out with. They aren’t good enough for her.” He furrowed his brows and I giggled softly.

“You’re so cute. You’re a total mummy’s boy aren’t you? I can tell by the way you talk about her.” I smiled softly, seeing a blush form on his cheeks.

“She’s been asking about meeting you, you know… My mum. She wants to see you when she comes to visit this weekend.” He said.

“This weekend? Why didn’t you tell me? I would love to meet her and your sister, Harry.” I said. “Unless you don’t want me to meet them?”

“No, no. Of course I want you to meet her. I’m just a little nervous I guess. You’re the first girl I’ve dated that I actually introduced to her.” He said as he messed with his glass a bit.

I smiled over at him, finding him to be completely adorable. I felt like such a lucky girl to have a man like him in my life, especially now that there was so much sadness and complicated situations. Before I could help myself I grabbed onto his hand that I had been holding and tugged him closer until I was finally close enough to plant a kiss on his lips. He seemed to relax under my touch as I brought my free hand up to his cheek to keep him close for a moment longer.

“You’re too good to me, Harry Styles. Some days I wonder if I even deserve you.” I said softly.

“You do deserve a good person in your life, Charlie. One who can take care of you and help you carry the burden you’ve been carrying on your own for so long.” He murmured.

I smiled at him and pecked his lips once more, pulling back as our food finally arrived. We enjoyed our nice dinner and finally began talking about things other than work, which was surprising but also amazing. It was the first decent time I’ve had in a long while and for once I actually had fun. 

By the end of the night we were just in a happy place and couldn’t seem to keep out hands off each other. Clothes were thrown around the house as we stumbled upstairs to the bedroom and it didn’t take long for us to become tangled up in each other’s arms. The night ended in pure bliss and I got the best night's sleep I’ve had in years since my father’s disappearance. It wasn’t just because we slept together… but because for the first time I finally got a glimpse of what it would be like to be happy with someone.


	10. Meeting the Family

We decided to put our secret case on hold for the next few days, mostly preparing to meet his mum and sister for the weekend. Harry had told me that they were both pretty excited to meet me, but it didn’t stop the nerves from bubbling up in my stomach when it came to the day of the meeting. We had been working on lunch together as we waited for them to arrive and when the doorbell finally rang I felt sick to my stomach. 

I hung back in the kitchen for a moment, taking a deep breath before finally joining Harry in the entryway. Before me stood a beautiful woman with brown hair and green eyes who closely resembled Harry. I could definitely tell just from one look that he got his looks from her. Behind her was a younger, but similar looking woman who I assumed was his sister Gemma. She was beautiful as well and I could already tell by the way that she was interacting with Harry that she was a good sister.

“Mum, Gem… This is Charlie. My girlfriend.” Harry introduced as he stepped aside to let them see me properly.

“Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you both.” I said politely as I stepped forwards to hold my hand out for them, but instead of a handshake I was surprised with a hug from his mother.

“We hug in this family, dear. Look at you. You’re so beautiful and you look so much like your mum.” She said with a smile as she cupped my cheeks.

“You know my mum?” I asked with my brows furrowed.

“Yes. I actually went to college with her before your family moved here to London.” she smiled.

“That's a crazy coincidence. I'm glad to know you two were friends though.” I smiled softly then let them in so we could talk some more.

She told me all about my mum in college and stories about her and my dad that I never knew about. It was nice hearing about them because I could never get them out of my mother now when she barely remembered she had a daughter.

“I'd like to go visit her tomorrow if that's okay with you. I tried to go yesterday but they said only family can visit unless I have permission.” she said.

“Of course. I was going to go see her tomorrow morning if you want to come. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. I can't guarantee that she'll remember you though. Things seem to be slipping away from her more and more each time I go.” I sighed softly and messed with my necklace that she gave me when she first started to forget and got diagnosed.

Anne reached over to grab onto my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

“I'm sure it’s been hard on you. My grandmother had dementia so I sort of understand what you’re going through. She used to believe I was some sort of spy coming to kill her.” She laughed slightly, but I could tell it still pained her.

“Does it ever get easier?” I asked with a slight laugh, eyes watering a little as I looked at her.

“It does… The worst part is finally letting go and there will be a split moment of relief which will make you feel guilty, but you'll know she’ll finally be at peace once she passes.” She said softly.

I nodded and wiped my eyes then excused myself to get some more tea. It wasn’t long until I felt Harry’s arms around me and I turned to hug him slightly, allowing him to comfort me which was something I hadn’t let anyone do since my father disappeared. He was slowly breaking down my walls and giving me a chance to trust people again, but I knew I still had a little ways to go yet before I would be completely healed from everything I've been through.

“You okay?” he asked as he pulled back to cup my cheeks.

“Yeah, I'll be fine. It’s just kinda hard to deal with and I feel sort of relieved knowing I finally have someone I can talk about this stuff with who understands. I mean, I know I can talk to you about a lot, but this is something you'll never understand until it happens to you.”

He nodded and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, thankfully deciding to drop the subject as he helped me prepare the tea and bring it in to fill up everyones cup. The rest of the night went fantastic and I grew to really like Harry’s sister, Gemma. She was so straight forward and strong. I could already tell that she was someone that I would look up to in the future once we got to know each other more. Not to mention the fact that she told me all the best stories about Harry’s childhood which made him red in the face from embarrassment.

When they finally turned in for the night and went back to stay at Harry’s place I looked over at him with a content smile on my face. I was so in love with this man and it both excited and terrified me. He raised a brow as he paused from straightening up the living room of my parents house to look at me.

“What?” he asked.

“C’mere.” I murmured, pulling him over so I could wrap my arms around his neck and place a kiss on his lips.

“What was that for?” he asked with a smile. “Not that I'm complaining one bit.”

“You’re amazing. You know that?” I smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

This time it was much deeper and more passionate than the last. He lifted me up to wrap my legs around his waist as he carried me upstairs to the bedroom where clothes were thrown off, leaving us both in a breathless mess once we finished.

We laid in bed together for a little while until I finally drifted off, but not before hearing a soft whisper coming from him that made my heart flutter.

“I love you, Charlie.”


	11. Heartbreak and Hope

As promised the next morning I woke up and the two of us picked up Anne to go see my mother while Gemma met up with a couple friends she had in town. I was nervous about seeing my mother again after what happened the last time I was there, but it helped having Harry and Anne here instead of dealing with it on my own like I usually did. The nurses directed us to the garden where she often sat and enjoyed the sun or watched the birds fly around in the few trees that were planted there.

“Mum? It’s me. Charlie.” I said hesitantly as I walked over to her.

“Charlie?” She asked as she looked over at me us. “Oh my goodness. Anne, is that you?” 

“Hello, Laura.” Anne smiled as she sat next to my mother while I stood next to Harry who grabbed onto my hand and squeezed gently.

I leaned into him as I watched my mother light up around her old friend, feeling my heart ache because I haven’t seen her smile like that in years. It definitely never happened when I came to visit. She mostly just thought I was a nice nurse or a girl who came to visit her every other day.

“Laura, I want to introduce you to my son, Harry. He worked under Tom at the station.” Anne said as she looked over at Harry who was a gentleman as always and reached out to shake her hand to say hello.

“Hello. It’s nice to see you again.” He said with a smile.

“Oh, yes I remember you. Tom talked about you a lot and my daughter had the biggest crush on you.” She said.

My eyes widened and I blushed deeply.

“Oh is that so?” Harry smirked as he looked down at me.

“Shut up.” I mumbled as I nudged his side which only made him chuckle.

“So you must be Gemma then.” My mum said to me which made my heart drop.

“Excuse me.” I said as I walked to the gate and stepped outside the building for a moment trying to catch my breath.

As I walked around the corner I bumped into someone and looked up to choke out an apology, but the words got caught in my throat when I caught a glimpse of who I bumped into as he looked back at me. His blue eyes that matched mine widened slightly and he quickly turned back around the picked up the pace.

“Dad?”

My head felt like it was spinning as I rushed after him, calling out to him and begging him to stop as he quickly got in his car and sped off.

“Dad, please!” I whimpered as I finally came to a stop.

“Charlie!”

Harry ran up to me and grabbed onto me as I collapsed to my knees on the sidewalk, letting out a sob as I leaned into him. I felt like I could barely breathe after hearing my mother mistake me as someone else and now seeing my father, touching him, only to lose him again.

“I saw him, Harry. He was here. My dad was here.”

~.:o:.~

“What do you mean he was here?” Harry asked once I finally calmed down enough to speak.

“I ran into him on my way out. He was here and he saw me, but he ran off. He was alone so I don’t understand why he ran from me. Why did he leave me?” I asked as I looked up at Harry with tears in my eyes.

Normally I would try to hold it all in and seem all tough like some hardass cop, but I’m sure to him I looked like a helpless child who lost her parents. My mind was furiously working on trying to remember license plate numbers or letters and the type of car he was driving, but I was so caught off guard and light headed at the moment that I couldn’t think straight.

“We can talk about this later, okay? Let’s go back in and get you some water. Just calm down, love.” He said softly as he helped me up, keeping a grip on me in case I fell over which I nearly did.

My hands trembled as I held the cup in my hands, barely even able to bring it to my lips because of how shook up I was at the moment. He was so close to me and I let him get away. I still couldn’t understand why he didn’t stay either. He had obviously visited my mother before we came in and the moment he saw us he was making his run for it.

“Maybe he actually did leave us… Became greedy and decided to work for them instead of taking care of his family… “ I said quietly as I stared down at my cup.

“Hey, don’t talk like that. You know it’s not true. Your father loved you and your mum. He talked about you all the time when we would go out on rides together.” Harry assured me as he placed his hands over mine.

“We’ll get him back. I’m sure he’s just trying to protect you. Maybe they have someone threatening you or something like that which is why he’s been hanging back and not trying to escape.” he suggested.

“Even if that’s true I couldn’t possibly imagine that anyone in my life would do something like that to him or me. Or that they would be working with the Irish Mob. They all work at the station and there’s no way a cop could be dirty in there. Not with the way things are run and how many good cops there are.” I shook my head and sighed deeply. “I just want him back. I lost him once and then I found out he was alive… Now I’m losing my mum… I need him here for when she eventually strokes out and dies or something. I can’t handle this on my own.”

My voice broke slightly and I felt his thumb brush a few stray tears off my face.

“You’re not alone. You have me… and Dylan, and Jensen, and everyone else at the station. We’re a family, Charls. Your family.” He said softly.

I nodded at his words, knowing that he was right but it still upset me that my father was gone once again. It made me wish that things were far less complicated because otherwise I would be happy and working my way up to Detective instead of staying hung up over my missing father.

“Hey, Charls. Where did you put the keys? I forgot my phone in the car.” Harry said after a moment.

“They’re in my coat pocket.” I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

I heard shuffling before there was a silence.

“Charlie…” He said as he walked in holding a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” I asked him. 

He simply handed it to me and I knew immediately that it was a note written by my father because I recognized his handwriting based on hours of looking over his written reports.

Stop digging. It’s too dangerous. They have someone in the station who is getting suspicious. Please just back off. 

I love you, kiddo.

My eyes filled with tears as I read over the note a few more times, realizing that he was there for a reason. To give me this warning. But it only made me want to find him even more.

“I think it's time we bring Jensen into this. He’s the only one I trust and he would know who would be possible to turn at the station.” I said as I looked up at Harry.

“Charlie-”

“No. We’re not giving up. We’re getting him out of there.”


	12. Traitor

The three of us stood against the wall of the bullpen, looking out at all the desks and officers who wandered around.

“Who do you think it is?” Jensen asked.

“I don’t know. I grew up around everyone in this station. I can’t imagine any of them double crossing the badge and working for the mob.” I said as I looked around.

“It has to be one of the rookies. There is no way any of the others are working for them.” Harry said as he shook his head.

“No. There’s no way. I know them. I went through the academy with all of them and they’re my friends.” I frowned.

This was going to be much harder than I thought. Everyone in this room was like family to us… to me…

“We’ll figure it out. We just have to be cautious. Don’t tell anyone about this and try not to seem too interested in the case.” Jensen said as he walked off to start work for the day.

I glanced over at Harry who gave me a quick kiss to the temple when no one was looking before we headed to the conference room to see what our assignments were for the day. Fortunately for us Mahoney needed some officers to follow up on some details for the mob case so we were sent to talk to a couple informants.

“What about Mahoney?” I asked Harry as we drove to the location. “He’s been on this case for years and he’s barely made any progress. What if he’s holding back on purpose and withholding evidence?” 

“Mahoney was your dad’s partner, Charlie. They ran the case together.” he said.

“But my dad was the lead investigator. I'm sure it could have busted his ego knowing a street cop was taking lead over a senior detective like him.”

“That might be possible, but we have to be sure before we go an accuse someone of working for the mob. It could ruin their life.”

I nodded slightly and sighed, wishing things could be a little less complicated than they were. We stopped at home to change into more casual clothes so our informant didn’t get caught talking to the cops then drove to the meeting place which was a bar he owned downtown. We stepped in to find it empty apart from a few workers and us.

“You work for Pete?” A man at the bar asked, using Mahoney’s undercover name so no one around knew who he was really talking to.

“Yeah. He wants to know if you have any updates for us.” Harry said.

“I do. There’s a big arms deal that’s going on tomorrow night. Elias Ryker is going to be bringing in a shipment. Lucky for you they don’t know what Ryker looks like. I can get you a time and place, but you'll have to do the rest.” he said as he slipped is a piece of paper then we nodded and left the building.

“This is perfect. We can intercept the delivery and give it to him ourselves. That would get us enough to put them all away and we could get my dad back!” I said once we got in the car.

“I don’t know, Charlie. With your dad’s warning and how easily this fell into our laps… It doesn’t feel right.” 

“But it's our only shot, Harry. We have to try.”

“We’ll see what Mahoney thinks.” he said as we drove back to tell him what we found.

After much convincing we finally managed to get him to agree with our plan and it wasn’t long until we were taking down Ryker and his crew for possession of illegal weapons. We studied the way he spoke and it turns out he had his girlfriend with which was good for Harry and I because we played the part perfectly. Of course Jensen was there with us along with a couple other undercover cops. Dylan was among them which was nice because I felt like I could trust him. The others not so much. As we got ready to go I pulled him off to the side and looked up at him.

“Dyl, promise me you'll be careful. This is dangerous in ways you don’t understand. You have to watch your back okay? Don’t trust the others.” I said quietly.

“Why? What’s going on?” he frowned.

“Just trust me. If things go bad get out. Don’t worry about me.” I said as I gave him a tight hug.

“I can’t promise you I'll leave, but I'll be careful. You be careful, too. I can’t be losing my best friend.” he said as he kissed my head.

I smiled softly and nodded, kissing his cheek before I walked back over to Harry and the others who were getting ready. I was pretty nervous because of what happened the last time I went undercover but I felt better knowing Harry would be by my side the whole time. When it was time we loaded up the van and truck that held the guns and drove to the meeting place which was an abandoned warehouse outside of town. The truck parked outside of a motel we were based out of nearby and we drove the van to the warehouse.

“This is such a typical bad guy thing to do. Have a meet here at an abandoned warehouse.” I giggled softly to myself as we pulled up.

Harry chuckled and shook his head.

“Let’s try to focus here, love.” He teased.

I nodded and followed him into the building once we arrived, knowing there were hidden cops around waiting in case anything went bad. I freely held Harry’s hand, playing the role of his girlfriend which was nice because I could openly seek his comfort if I needed it. As we stood there waiting a few SUVs pulled up and out stepped Murphy O’Connor, the man who held my father hostage. Thankfully I had put a blond wig on and green contacts so I was less recognizable in case they knew who I was.

“Elias Ryker? I expected you to be… different.” he said as he examined us.

“I expected you to be thicker around the stomach, but we can’t always be right.” Harry chuckled, easily playing off the humor Elias had from when we were talking with him.

Murphy chuckled and shook his head. 

“Is this all you have? My shipment was much bigger than what you can fit in a van like this.” he said.

“You'll get the rest later. My employer insisted on getting half the payment for half the order first. You can have the rest when it arrives in a couple hours and we can continue from there. It's just business.” Harry said.

Murphy stared at us for a moment then nodded his head, signaling one of the men who held a briefcase to walk over and show us the money it held.

“May I see the weapons first?” Murphy asked.

“Of course.” 

Harry nodded and went to the van to grab one of the boxes to show him what was inside. As one of the men watched him Murphy kept his eyes on me which made me a bit uncomfortable.

“And who might this lovely creature be?” he asked as he took my hand and placed a kiss on it.

“Jasmine. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard stories about you and I have to say I'm quite impressed. When I heard Elias was making a deal with you I had to come with to see for myself.” I said, surprised by how calm my voice sounded.

“Is that so? I have to say you're quite beautiful. Just know that you can always be a part of the more delicate side of the business. See it up close.” he smirked.

“As much as I want to say yes my heart belongs with Elias. He’s saved my life and it's not easy to come by a man as honest and faithful as him.” I smiled over at Harry who sent a soft one in return, somehow knowing that I was talking about him as Harry. 

“I see this is a love that can’t be broken. I admire that, especially with this business we’re in. It's not easy to find a woman who is built for this life either.” He said before looking over the weapons. “Everything looks good. Meet us back here at midnight. I have some things to take care of.”

We nodded and took our money, letting his men unload the van before we drove back to the motel. We still had to wait for him to buy the rest and that was when we were going to call in the calvary and take them all down. While everyone was getting ready at the station Harry and I stayed in our room to wait for the next meet.

“I have to say you look hot as a blonde.” Harry smirked, watching as I touched up my makeup.

I glanced back at him in the mirror, seeing his eyes lowered down to my ass which I knew looked good in the tight black dress that I was wearing. A smirk formed on my lips as I looked over at him.

“Is that so? Maybe I should keep the wig then. Just for us.” I said as I walked over to him and straddled his lap. “We have some time you know. A good distraction would be better than sitting in here getting worked up.”

Harry grinned as his hands moved down to my ass and gave it a firm squeeze. In a second I was thrown back on the bed with a giggle as he pulled off his shirt then hovered over me, lips crashing onto mine. I kissed back deeply, deciding to enjoy the moment. Especially because the likelihood of things going wrong and something happening was pretty high.

After we finished we straightened up our clothes and hair, fixing my makeup and washing the lipstick off Harry’s face. We both decided to relax a bit until it was time to go, closing our eyes as we napped since it was pretty late and we had been up most of last night. However our peaceful moment was interrupted as I heard the click of the door being unlocked. In my sleepy state I barely had a chance to react before I was yanked out of Harry’s arms which woke him up immediately.

“Elias!” I yelled, glad I managed to say his cover name as I struggled in the man’s grip. A damp cloth was placed over my mouth and I faintly saw them knock Harry out by hitting him over the head before I fell unconscious as well.


	13. Betrayal

When I came to we were at a different empty building next to the river. I could tell by the sound of the boats going through and the salty scent of the ocean water. Harry was tied to a chair next to me with his head resting forwards limply and I panicked when I saw the blood dripping down the side of his head.

“Hey, wake up.” I said as I tried to get over to him only to discover I was also tied up.

I somehow managed to scoot my chair closer and I kicked at his leg with my foot to wake him up. Sighing in relief as he moved.

“Oh thank god. Are you okay?” I asked him when he lifted his head.

“I'm fine, but I think we’ve been caught. Your wig is gone.” he said.

We both felt panicked, knowing right then that we had been discovered. Whoever was working for them had to have been in our small group from earlier. Which means it could be Jensen, Dylan, Mahoney, or a few others. Just thinking about it made me sick.

“Seems like you two are a little smarter than I thought, but of course I am one step ahead.”

We both turned to see Murphy walking up with my dad being dragged behind him by two men. There were a few others who appeared out of the shadows and by the terrified look on my dad’s face I knew we were in trouble.

“Murphy, just leave them alone. They were just trying to protect me.” My dad said, only to get a swift punch in the gut.

“Stop it!” I cried, struggling to get out of the restraints.

“You are in no position to tell me what to do little girl.” Murphy warned as he gripped onto my jaw. “I haven’t decided what I'm going to do with you yet. Maybe I'll let you live and keep you instead of your father. You would be much more fun.”

I spit in his face which obviously pissed him off by the way he backhanded me. Now it was Harry’s turn to be pissed.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” he growled as he violently squirmed to try to get free.

“Fuck you.” I snapped, showing him no fear as I glared at him.

“We’ll see how you feel in a moment.” He smirked as he pulled out a pocket knife.

I tensed slightly as he brushed it against my cheek and left a small cut. Just when I thought he was going to do it again he turned and slammed it down into Harry’s leg which made him yell out in pain.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” I yelled, watching helplessly as he twisted the knife which made Harry cry out even more.

My eyes filled with tears as I watched him get punched by one of the other men until his face was bloody and he could barely hold his head up.

“Please stop! I'll do anything you want. Just stop. Please!” I begged, letting out a sob as I looked at Harry who shook his head slightly.

“Good. That’s the kind of obedience I was looking for.” Murphy smirked as he looked at me. “I was going to keep you for myself, but I think my son will enjoy you much more than I will.”

“Son?” The three of us said at the same time, my father just as confused.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure approaching and when I saw who it was my stomach churned.

“No…” I whispered.

“Oh don't be so surprised, Charlie. I'll admit I can’t put on a good english accent, but you were too sad and stupid to realize the difference.” Dylan smirked, his true Irish accent coming through.

“You… All this time. I confided in you and cried to you, but you knew where he was the whole time.” I choked out.

Just thinking about how he put his hands on me and all the late nights we spent tangled up in the sheets made me sick to my stomach. No one knew Murphy had a son, but it was obviously a long kept secret and a plan for infiltrating the police force. It was a good plan, but there was no way in hell that we were letting that happen.

“Yes, it was. You have no idea how hard it was not to laugh. ‘My daddy is gone and I'm all alone’” He mocked and laughed. “Your father caught on to my identity early on so we had to deal with him and what better way to get him to willingly work for us than to get close to his precious little girl?”

Dylan put his hand on my cheek and I pulled my head away from him, feeling disgusted by his touch now when I used to find comfort in it.

“You'll learn to respect me. When I'm through killing the rest of your family you'll have nothing left to fight for.” He smirked.

“What do you mean the rest?” I asked.

“Oh, did I forget to mention that I paid mummy dearest a visit before I came here?” he smirked.

“No. You didn't.” I choked out as a new fresh wave of tears washed over me.

“Oh I did. It was quite thrilling seeing the life leave her eyes as I choked it out of her. Guess the nurses will have quite the surprise when they find her in the morning.” he smirked.

“You little fucker!” My dad yelled as he managed to get away long enough to land a punch on him, but he was quickly grabbed again. Dylan kicked him in the gut and punched him a few times which made me scream at him to stop. When he finally finished my father was limp and unable to hold himself up.

“You son of a bitch!” I yelled through my tears, glaring as he walked over and pushed my chair back causing the wind to be knocked out of me for a moment because of how hard I landed. He grabbed a jug of water and when he grabbed a cloth I knew what he was going to do. My eyes widened and I struggled to get free, whimpering as he stood over me.

“Dylan, no. Please don’t.” I begged.

“You should think twice about talking to me like you just did.” he said as he put the cloth over my face and poured the water on, simulating drowning which was now my biggest fear and he knew that. Water filled my throat and I tried coughing it up, but more just took it's place.

This can’t be it.

I heard Harry yelling as I struggled to breathe as Dylan held my head in place, but just as I was about to pass out I heard the sounds of gunshots and yelling outside. I heard the chair next to me break and a second later the water stopped. I shake my head to knock off the cloth and cough up some water, seeing Harry and Dylan fighting as they wrestled around on the floor throwing punches. Chaos erupted as a bunch of cops flooded the place, shooting any of Murphy’s men that they came across.

My dad took the chance to get up as he grabbed onto the knife that had fallen out of Harry’s leg when he tackled Dylan. He cut the ropes that had held me to the chair and I rolled off then sat up and hugged him tightly, letting out a small sob.

“You’re okay. It's alright, honey.” He soothed me for a moment before pulling me to my feet because I was still a bit lightheaded. “We have to go.” 

“No. I can't leave Harry.” I shook my head and looked over at the two men.

Dylan dug his fingers into Harry’s hurt leg as he laid under him, causing him to growl in pain and collapse just enough for Dylan to get the advantage. I started to run over to help, but before I could Dylan gave Harry one swift punch which seemed to knock him out cold.

“Get away from him!” I yelled at Dylan, rushing over to push him away but he just grabbed onto me and shoved me away.

In my weakened state I stumbled and fell to the ground, glancing at my dad who was busy fighting off one of the other men so I was on my own. I moved myself backwards as Dylan grabbed a gun off one of the dead bodies, pointing it right at me.

“You little bitch. You had to go and ruin everything. We could have done so much together and owned this city, but you fucked it up.” He growled.

“Dylan, we were best friends. Are you really going to shoot me?” I asked him.

“Friends?” he scoffed. “You were just some girl I fucked for fun and to keep Tommy over there in line. You are nothing to me.” 

My eyes filled with tears as I closed my eyes and heard a gunshot, but the pain never came. When I opened my eyes I saw Harry standing in front of me and another gunshot rang out which made his body jerk from the hit. Before he could get a third, Jensen ran in and shot Dylan in the head which killed him instantly. 

My focus turned back to Harry who dropped to his knees in front of me. I immediately scrambled forwards and gently pulled his body back into my lap, choking out a sob when I saw the red liquid spilling out of two holes in his abdomen and chest.

“N No. Harry, hold on. Oh my god.” I placed my trembling hands over the wounds trying to hold pressure so he didn’t lose so much blood. “Jensen! Call an ambulance!”

Jensen looked over and nodded, already on the radio calling it in. I turned back to Harry who reached up to touch my cheek.

“It'll be okay. I love you, Charls.”

“No, it won’t. You have to hold on. I love you so much.” I whimpered as I cried harder than I ever had before.

We both knew how bad the situation was and how the odds were stacked so high against us that I could no longer see the outcome on the other side. I kept my hand pressed over the wounds the best I could as I leaned down and kissed him with everything I had just in case this was goodbye.

“I love you.” I whimpered as I cradled his upper body in my arms until the paramedics arrived and took him away from me, but by then his eyes were already closed and my heart was shattered.


	14. Recovery

4 MONTHS LATER

I stood before the gravestone that I had visited every day the past few months, still unable to grasp the fact that the person who rested underneath was gone. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about the night they died and part of me still felt like it was my fault. If I hadn’t been so obsessed with finding my father it would have never happened.

“I'm so sorry… I know you would tell me it's not my fault but I still feel like it is.” I sniffled as I wiped my eyes free of the tears I had been crying for the past ten minutes.

“Oh, I finally get to be free of my rookie status today.” I laughed slightly. “Dad and my boyfriend are throwing a big party afterwards. Everyone will be there, but it won’t be the same without you.”

I sighed deeply and placed the flowers on the headstone before leaning down to rest my head against it for a moment.

“I love you, Mum.” I whispered.

I stayed there for a few minutes until I someone walked up and spoke.

“You alright, hun?” My dad asked as he rubbed my back.

“Yeah, I'll be fine. Lets go.” I said as I stood up and walked back to the car with him. 

We drove off and I took the time during our drive to calm down and touch up my makeup. 

“Of course I had to start crying before we pick him up today. It's supposed to be a happy day.” I said as I touched up my eyeliner.

“He'll understand, kiddo. He always does.” he smiled then pulled up to the rehab clinic a few minutes later.

The two of us walked inside the familiar building and went straight to the room we had been visiting the past couple months. The smile returned to my face as I was met by my boyfriend who walked over on the crutches he had been relying on the past few months, but before he could get all the way he made me stop a few feet from him while he did the same. I watched as an excited grin made it's way onto his face as he dropped the crutches then walked over to me the rest of the way completely normal and picked me up. I let out a squeal and giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck as I gave him a deep kiss.

“Look at you walking like a young man again. I won’t be able to call you old anymore.” I teased with a giggle as I looked down into his green eyes.

“Good. I'm sick of it. I'll show you just how young I am when we get home.” he smirked.

“Still here.” My dad cleared his throat and I blushed deeply as Harry set me on my feet. “We better get going.”

“Good idea.” Harry chuckled as he grabbed my hand and followed me out of the building he had spent most of his time in the past few months. After he miraculously survived getting shot twice and stabbed he had some recovery time for his gunshot wounds followed by physical therapy to get function back into his leg. He had to have a second surgery to repair some of the damage, but luckily things went well and he was finally back to normal.

My dad drove us to the station where they welcomed Harry back with open arms, excited to see their fellow officer fully recovered. As everyone chatted with him I went to the locker room to get ready for the day. After getting dressed I started to walk out, but paused when I saw the empty locker where my best friend used to get ready. My heart ached as I thought about all the good times we had together that were just lies.

After Dylan I still found it extremely hard to trust people and only Jensen, Harry, and my father were the ones I truly trusted and could open up to. With everyone else I constantly had my guard up even though I had known most of them my whole life. Then again I thought I knew Dylan, too, and look how that turned out. My mind wandered back to watching him get shot in the head and seeing his blank eyes staring at me, pulling me back into that day which was the worst day of my life.

*4 MONTHS AGO*

“Charlie, come on. You have to hurry if you want to catch up to them.” Jensen said as he pulled me to my feet.

I barely noticed when he helped me into the police car and sped after the ambulance because I was too busy staring down at my hands which were covered in blood.

Harry’s blood…

When we arrived at the hospital it felt like everything was moving in slow motion as I rushed inside after the paramedics, watching as they took Harry into one of the emergency rooms to get him stable enough to move up to surgery. They cut off his clothes and quickly pulled out the bullets, trying to stop any bleeding. The heart monitors he was hooked up to held a steady pace and I tried to run in as they shocked him, but my father rushed over to hold me back.

I screamed and sobbed, watching his body jolt with each shock. The monitor stayed the same for too long, but when it finally beeped steadily they immediately rushed him up to surgery leaving me behind. I collapsed in my father’s arms, struggling to breath and hold myself together. I had already lost my mother tonight. I couldn’t lose the man I loved, too.

We waited for hours and eventually my father and one of the nurses convinced me to go clean up. Jensen had brought me some clothes from home so I took them to the room they were going to put Harry in so I could shower. His parents and sister were arriving soon so it would probably be best to be cleaned up and not covered in his blood anyway. I threw away my dress then stepped under the water, watching as the clear water turned red. It took a moment before I finally started to scrub the blood away quickly, needing to get it off my body as fast as possible. When it was finally done I choked out a sob and just sat on the floor of the shower and cried. 

I'm not sure how long I was there but by the time I finally pulled myself together Harry's family was already there along with most of the station. Everyone turned to look at me and I ignored them as I walked up to Anne, feeling my eyes water again. 

“I'm so sorry,  Anne.” I whisper. 

“Oh honey, come here.”

She stood up and pulled me into a tight hug, allowing me to cry into her shoulder like I had all night. I fell apart for the hundredth time and it wasn't until the doctor came back that we pulled away from each other. 

“It was a pretty complicated surgery, but he should be just fine.” he smiled.

I sighed in relief, watching Anne and Gemma grab their things so they could go see him. I intended on letting them see him first but Anne grabbed my hand and pulled me along with them, knowing I wanted to be there as well. When we walked into the room and I saw him lying there breathing on his own I felt such relief. I walk over to the opposite side his mother was standing on and slipped my hand into his, bringing it to my lips as I kissed his knuckles gently.

“This is the second time he’s saved my life… I owe your son everything, Anne. It took him getting shot for me to tell him I loved him. I should have said it sooner.”

My voice broke as I spoke, looking down at his bruised face as I gently stroked his cheek.

“You can say it from now on. He’s okay now and I'll be happy knowing he has a girl like you who will love him and keep him safe.” She said softly.

He woke up later the next morning when I was sleeping in the chair beside his bed with my head resting beside him on the bed. Seeing him awake brought tears to my eyes again and I immediately told him how much I loved him. Every day after that I was by his side at the hospital since I had to take some leave anyway to see a therapist. I still went to her because I knew I had some serious issues left to deal with and it was a slow but steady process. The nightmares of that night still haunted me, especially after seeing my mother’s body at her funeral. Knowing how she died just killed me and I wish I could have been there to protect her.

“Charls? You okay?”

I turned to see Harry standing in the doorway watching me with a concerned expression on his face. He knew just how bad things were for me and he was there every night when I woke up crying or screaming from nightmares.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I said as I wiped away the tears I didn’t realize had fallen until now.

He didn’t say anything and instead just pulled me into a tight hug which I immediately melted into. I snuggled into his arms for a long moment, feeling peace once again. He was my saving grace and without him I would be in much worse shape.

“Alright let’s go. Can’t be late for the ceremony.” I said as I looked up at him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He smiled.

The two of us walked out into the main office area where everyone had gathered with the other rookies. There was one of us missing, but that didn’t stop the ceremony from going on. The training officers stood in front of their rookies and I couldn’t help but smile at Harry as he stood across from me with an equally wide smile on his face. I found it funny how we first met, but now here we were so madly in love and happy together. He stepped forwards when it was his turn and replaced my rookie badge with a normal one, cutting off the tie us rookies had to wear with our uniforms. My smile grew as the station erupted in whistles and claps, unable to help myself as I threw my arms around Harry’s neck and hugged him tightly. I giggled as he spun me around before setting me down on my feet.

“Move in with me.” He murmured as he smiled down at me.

“What?” I asked in surprise.

“Your dad is back and selling the house plus you stay with me anyway. Move in with me.”  he said.

I smiled softly and gave him a quick kiss.

“Okay.”


	15. The End

Harry sat out on call with his new rookie in the passenger seat. He was fresh out of the academy and had a lot to learn. Like his wife was before him, the kid was eager to get his first arrest but Harry was more prepared this time around.

“There’s a suspicious man over there.” The young officer said.

“You mean the man who locked his keys in his car?” Harry chuckled and shook his head. “He's been trying to get in for the past five minutes. A car thief would have been in and gone by now.”

Before the rookie could say anything else a call came over the radio which made Harry choke on the coffee he was just taking a drink out of.

“Shit. We have to go.” he said as he flipped on his lights and sirens then sped off.

It wasn’t long until he arrived at the hospital, ordering the rookie to park and lock up the car while he ran in. The nurse directed him to where he needed to go and he ran through the halls, hearing the screams of his wife which only made him quicken his pace until he finally reached the door and rushed inside.

“I'm here.” he said breathlessly as he rushed to her side.

“It’s about damn time.” Charlie huffed, her forehead covered in sweat as she cried out in pain caused by her swollen belly.

Harry grabbed her hand, holding her close as he watched her scream in pain while the doctor stood by her feet to deliver their first child. He gave her encouraging words and let her squeeze as much as she wanted until their precious little baby girl was brought into the world. His eyes filled with tears as he cut the cord then watched them place her on his wife's chest for a moment so they could meet.

“She’s beautiful.” Charlie choked out, in tears herself.

“She is. She looks like you.” Harry smiled and placed a loving kiss on his wife’s head before they took the baby away to clean her up and give her a quick check up. He wrapped his arms around his exhausted wife, feeling so happy in that moment with her.

The past few years had been a little crazy for them. Both of them have been hurt many times on the job, but luckily neither too seriously injured. A year after the incident with Dylan they got engaged and married a few months later, but it wasn’t until Charlie became pregnant that she decided to get herself off the streets and find a more stable job at the station which would keep her and the baby safe. She had made detective last year and became the youngest ever in the history of London, but she was amazing at it and closed more cases her first year than any before her. And most while pregnant as well. Of course the last month she took it easy and didn’t take many cases, but she still managed to work a couple before taking leave.

“What should we name her?” Charlie asked as she looked up at him.

“Laura… Laura Anne Styles.” Harry said, knowing she would want to honor her mother.

Charlie gave him a sad smile at the mention of her mothers name, but nodded in agreement. He knew she still struggled every once in a while, but she was so strong as she pushed through it all.

“I love you, Charlie.” Harry said as he placed a loving kiss on her lips which curled up into a smile.

“I love you, too.”

THE END

(A/N: Finally finished! Please let me know what you thought!)


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